A set of concrete steps led up between the side of the boathouse and the driveway to a flat area. This turned out to be a very pleasant garden, built on a terrace about twenty metres square and surrounded by flowering shrubs and trees. The scent of frangipani filled the air, adding a spicy hint of exotic romance. On the far side of the lawn was another concrete retaining wall. A door and several windows were set in the wall, almost obscured by the garden shrubbery.
The group passed across the lawn to a second set of steps, which led up to a covered patio at the rear of the house. The house was a lovely old ‘Colonial’ bungalow style, with wide verandas all around and many open doors and windows.
Seated around tables on the back patio were four adults. Two were clearly Muriel’s grandparents, marked out by their grey hair and age. The other two were middle-aged; a man and a woman. Andrew looked at them curiously, and not without a twinge of apprehension.
‘These are Muriel’s parents,’ Andrew thought, curious to see the family resemblance, and a little disappointed to note that Muriel’s mother had quite a stout body. A comment by his dad about looking at the mother before deciding to marry a girl crossed Andrew’s mind- not that he had any thoughts of marriage at his age. It was just pure romance that was setting him all a-tingle.
Andrew’s gaze shifted to Muriel’s grandparents. He was able to stand back and study them while the adults were introduced. Muriel’s grandfather was a solid, square faced man with deep brown eyes, set wide apart. His face had a flattish appearance and his hair was grizzled and grey.
“Joshua Murchison,” the old man said as he shook Sub Lt Sheldon’s hand. He then gestured to Muriel’s grandmother. “My wife Violet.”
Andrew shifted his attention to her and was surprised to note that she was a tiny little woman with a slim build. Then he was looking at Muriel’s father, Basil Murchison. He was obviously his father’s son, the same wide eyes and flattish face, which Andrew now noted was also a characteristic of Muriel’s face, not that it marred her attractiveness. Muriel’s mother was introduced as being Ivy.
Then it was Andrew’s turn to meet them and shake hands He found himself tongue tied and could only mumble his name. Thankfully he stepped back to let Blake and Carmen move forward.
The group were expected and were settled into chairs with the Murchisons. Andrew made sure he was seated beside Muriel but did not make any overt displays of friendship or affection. Grandma Murchison and Mrs Murchison went off with Muriel to bring out cold drinks: cordial and fruit juice. Andrew found he was feeling very shy and anxious and could only mutter and point when Muriel’s mother asked him what he would like. He sat back and sipped at a fruit punch.
The adults began talking about what they did for a living. Andrew learned that Muriel’s father was an accountant, which seemed to look right somehow. While the cadet staff talked to the adults Andrew settled and looked around. He found it very pleasant on the patio. A cool breeze was wafting in around the end of the building. Beyond that was a rocky ridge covered with dry savannah woodland and grass trees. On the other side of the house, beyond the driveway and just visible through the trees, was the roof of another house.
The view from the patio was enough to hold Andrew’s attention for several minutes. Just visible below was the beach and the little bay with its rocky headlands. The headlands were grey granite covered with mottled black lichen. The water looked fairly clear and he could clearly see the bottom for some distance out, even to being able to see the dark shadows which denoted the small fringing reef they had been diving on, and outlying rocks.
Beyond that the sea shaded off into green, then to a dark blue, speckled with a shimmering pattern of sunlight on the waves. Far off, at least a dozen kilometres away, was the other side of Trinity Inlet. The city of Cairns, where Andrew and the other cadets lived, was out of sight to his left, hidden by the trees on the next ridge. The dark blue shapes of the coastal mountains north of Cairns were clearly visible, although hazy in the distance. The distinct shapes of Yorkeys Knob, Earl Hill, Buchans Point and Double Island were all easily identified.
To Andrew’s right the faint glimmer of a flat, white disc was just visible. It was, he knew, one of the sand cays out on the Great Barrier Reef. He searched his memory to try to sort out which one it was. ‘Upolo Cay or Michaelmas Cay,’ he thought, and was mildly nettled that he could not remember which it was.
A passing ‘Big Cat’ ferry on its way out to Green Island, somewhere off to his right but hidden by the hillside, held his attention for some time. Then a motor launch came into view closer in and heading for Cairns.
Sub Lt Sheldon was speaking to Old Mr Murchison. “Are you still working sir?” he asked. Andrew shifted his attention back to the conversation.
Old Mr Murchison shook his head. “No, thank heavens. I'm comfortably retired and can get on with my reading.”
“What did you do sir?” Sub Lt Sheldon enquired politely.
“I was a gold miner mostly,” Old Mr Murchison replied.
Muriel then cut in. “And a diver. You were a diver for a long time weren’t you Grandad?”
Old Mr Murchison gave her a smile but looked mildly annoyed. “Yes, but that was a long time ago.”
“When was that sir?” PO Walker asked.
“Oh before the Second World War and during it,” Old Mr Murchison replied, “When I was young and fit.”
“Were you in that war sir?” Sub Lt Sheldon asked. It was over sixty years since that great event but it still roused Andrew’s attention.
Grandfather Murchison made a face but nodded. “Yes, I was in the navy.”
Andrew leaned forward. “What ship were you on sir?” he asked. He was particularly interested because his own grandfather had been in the navy during the war.
Old Mr Murchison glanced at him and seemed to scowl momentarily. Andrew feared he had intruded onto a delicate subject but the old man then replied, “On the cruiser HMAS Hobart till 1941, then I was promoted to Petty Officer and transferred to the boom defence vessel Kowrowa.”
Muriel again interrupted. “Grandad was in Sydney when the Japanese midget submarines attacked. He was one of the divers who helped salvage one of the wrecks, weren’t you Grandad?”
“Yes,” Old Mr Murchison nodded.
Andrew was very interested now. He had read about the Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney in 1942 and had even seen one of the recovered subs at the War Memorial in Canberra.
Sub Lt Sheldon leaned forward. “That must have been very interesting. I imagine diving was very different in those days from what it is now?”
“Yes, much tougher I reckon,” Old Mr Murchison grunted, but he did not elaborate.
Muriel said, “Grandad has lots of photos from then. Would you like to see them? Is that alright Grandad?”
For a second Andrew thought that Old Mr Murchison was going to say no, as he frowned, but then he smiled at Muriel. She hurried off into the house and the conversation went on, Sub Lt Sheldon and PO Walker asking about the submarines, and then about other events in Old Mr Murchison’s career. By listening Andrew learned that Old Mr Murchison had spent the last few years of the war doing salvage work, mostly around New Guinea. That interested him as his own grandfather had been involved in similar work.
‘I wonder if they knew each other?’ he thought. He was about to ask when Muriel returned, carrying a large, black covered photo album. This was placed on the coffee table in front of them and Muriel knelt to turn the pages. Old Mr Murchison took a pair of glasses out of his shirt pocket and put them carefully on, then leaned